


Birthday Lights

by TheonSugden



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, birthday fic, mention of arson, mention of drugs, mention of rape, yes this is still mostly lighthearted as a story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 02:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6637288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheonSugden/pseuds/TheonSugden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Robert turns 30, he feels pushed out of Aaron's life, but Aaron still finds a way to make him feel special.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Lights

“There’s no need to make that again, Vic! Wait, are you throwing that out?”

Victoria rolled her eyes as she pushed the edge of Liv’s plate against his stomach.

“You shouldn’t be fixing her meals,” he said in between large bites. “Certainly not two or three times.”

“Y’mean on yer birthday, right?”

Robert was almost surprised anyone had remembered. 

“No, I hadn’t forgotten, Rob. I’m gonna fix all your favorites for tea. But that’s when I’m an unpaid skivvy. Right now I’m a _paid_ skivvy.” 

He was pleased, but not enough to get over the image of a sulking Liv nearly shoving her plate off the breakfast table. 

“Rob - I don’t wanna hear it, alright? I know she’s got a gob and she’s moody, but I worked for Val for years. Just ignore it.”

He nodded, wanting to say Aaron was ignoring it and everything was just getting worse, but knowing she wasn’t the person he needed to be having that conversation with. 

She handed him an envelope left on the counter.

“Diane sent this.”

He couldn’t hide his smile as he opened the plain birthday card. With e-mail and texts - and having almost nobody around who was more likely to celebrate his date of birth than his date of death - he hadn’t expected anything.

His smile widened when he saw the photo of Diane with Doug, Gran, and Amos…with a bonus photo of Gran giving Doug a withering glare when he fiddled with the camera too long.

“I miss them. Well, I miss Diane. Gran’s on the mend.”

“She’ll outlive the lot of us,” Victoria said while whisking.

With their luck, and remembering the bullet in his chest not all that long ago, he knew she probably would. 

“Tried to get Andy to send one, but -”

She didn’t need to say anything else, and he didn’t need to respond.

He thought back to his last birthday, when Andy and Vic and Diane had all been there for him - the happiest he could have been without Dad. And he’d left early to go walk three steps behind Chrissie and her pervert of a father and rapist of a son. 

He knew he’d never have that back again.

“Are ya happy, Rob?” Victoria asked, wiping her brow from under the chef’s hat.

He couldn’t really answer that. He was happy he still had the best sister around. Happy he wasn’t dead yet. Happy he had Aaron back…even if he’d been reminded that the tiny scraps of Aaron’s life he’d settled for could still be easily snatched away from him. 

“I try,” he bluffed, empty grin at the ready.

“Well - happy birthday,” she said, kissing his cheek affectionately as she handed him the fresh plates. 

He blushed before heading to the back room, pausing to devour one of Liv’s slices of toast as an act of protest before he did so.

As he began to open the door, it flung open from the other side, with Liv and soon Aaron heading out.

“Goin’ to the cafe,” Aaron grumbled.

“Right,” Robert replied, fake-casually, as Aaron shoved the contents of the tray down his throat. “Aaron -”

Aaron wiped his mouth with his sleeve, pausing to listen.

_It’s my birthday, and I’d really like…_

“Here,” he said, handing Aaron 20 quid. “Don’t say I never did anything nice for her.” 

“Never woulda anyway,” Aaron replied, letting himself smile before he planted a quick kiss on Robert’s lips.

Robert knew that would just have to be enough.

He spent a few hours with Vic before going home for a long nap. He wasn’t that tired, but he still managed to doze for a while, only waking up when he felt a heavy presence on the edge of the bed.

“Usually when I dream this, you’re either punching me or taking off your clothes,” Robert yawned, running a hand through his messy hair.

“Here’s yer tea, birthday boy,” Aaron said. It wasn’t actually his tea - it was a mug of tea - but he knew Aaron was being cheeky.

“Who told you?”

Aaron looked down at his hands, drowning in his jumper.

“Vic mentioned it when I asked where ya were. Was so caught up with Liv, didn’t remember…”

Robert feigned a shrug, earning a snort from Aaron.

“What?”

“You’re still a shit liar, mate.”

He turned on the bed to get a closer look at Robert, mid-day sun shining in his eyes. Either that or tears.

“Won’t always be like this, Rob.”

That just made it worse.

Robert laughed, not very merrily.

“I’d say wait until what we have planned for her birthday, but every day’s her birthday.”

Aaron snorted again before taking a pouting Robert’s hand. The tenderness still threw Robert, even now, over a year later.

“Got your pressie.”

He reluctantly let Aaron’s hand go, opening his own to find…

“It’s a lighter,” Robert said, brows furrowing. “Is this where you introduce me to the recreational marijuana you and Adam keep hidden in the scrapyard office?”

Aaron’s eyebrows raised and he made a loud choking sound.

“Yeah. Then I’ll get ya hooked on crack…granddad.”

Robert grinned.

“And I gotta finda better place to hide that…anyway, the lighter’s from when I lived in France.”

He thought back, and Robert wished he could see Aaron’s memories. Maybe someday they’d go there together.

“Moved around a lot - with Ed, squattin’ with mates, hostels…but everywhere I went, always saw somebody usin’ that. Or one like it.”

Robert followed Aaron’s eyes to study the cheap, battered red plastic and metal Bic in his hand. 

“Then one day, opened me front door and it was layin’ there…picked it up, put it in my pocket. Next day, I finally got worried enough about Adam to come back ‘ere.”

“Come home?” Robert asked, softly.

“Didn’t seem like me home…but now, yeah.”

Robert reached up to muss Aaron’s hair, glad it felt so soft in his hand even with the gel.

“So basically, strange people followed you around France and forced you to leave the country. That’s…quite scary, actually, but I’m grateful.”

Aaron smiled - one of the happiest, most unguarded smiles Robert had ever seen on the man he loved.

“So’m I, Robert.”

He wanted to tell Aaron he loved him, and hear Aaron say it back. He wanted to pin him down on the bed and make love to him, never, ever leave this room, never have to face the world. Never have to make another mistake that would drive Aaron away.

He settled for sitting up on his elbows, leaning forward for Aaron to give him a kiss, short at first, then longer, beard singing his smooth skin.

When Robert pulled away, he put the lighter in the drawer.

“So you don’t mind if I use that when I burn down Home Farm, right?”

Aaron smiled, then scratched his beard.

“Not sure if you’re bein’ serious…”

Robert smiled back.

“I’m not sure if I am either…”

Aaron shook his head, not bothering to resist when Robert pulled him close for another kiss.

“Happy birthday,” Aaron whispered in his ear, more meaning than Robert thought possibly in two quick words, before he rested his head on Robert’s bare chest.

And for Robert, now it was.


End file.
